Baton Rouge -- The LSU women's basketball team
will see its first live action at the Maravich Center on Thursday in the Lady
Tigers' season-opening exhibition against Xavier at 7 p.m.

The game won't count toward the team's overall 2012-13 record, but LSU Coach Nikki Caldwell said exhibition games are as important as any
other contest.

"You want to take full advantage of the fact that you're
running a full, 40-minute game," Caldwell said. "Any time you take the
court, whether it's an exhibition game, a scrimmage, what have you, there's a
certain way you must play and that's the LSU way."

With the departure of five seniors and another player to a
transfer after last season, Caldwell said the new-look Lady Tigers will lean
heavily on its upperclassman guards -- seniors Adrienne Webb and Bianca Lutley
and junior Jeanne Kenney -- and look for increasing roles from its freshman
class.

"This will also give us a chance to look at the starters,
the rotation and how we're going to maximize and manage our bench,"
Caldwell said. "In a game like this, we'll be able to get a true assessment
of where our offensive scheme is at, and how disruptive we can be defensively
when someone really hasn't had the chance to scout you as much."

LSU bested Xavier in an exhibition game, 102-42 last season, but the Gold
Nuggets come in 11th in the NAIA Division I Preseason Coaches poll, their
highest preseason ranking since 1997 when they were seventh.

Kenney said she'll be happy to be playing against another team
after playing against her teammates in practice, and that the exhibition game
gives the Lady Tigers an important preseason opportunity.

"It's important to make a statement early and show everyone
that we're a top team," Kenney said. "Nothing has changed. There's
still intensity, there's still defense and we can score the ball."

Lady Tiger freshman Derreyal Youngblood, a John Curtis product,
will be playing her first collegiate minutes against a team especially familiar
to her. Youngblood played with Xavier guard Whitney Gathright in high
school.

Youngblood said her short time as a Lady Tiger has been good for
her as a person and a basketball player and she's looking forward to proving it
on the court Thursday.

"When I get around (the team), I feel more confident in
myself," Youngblood said. "That helps on the court, too. Webb is
basically going to kick me across campus if I don't make that last show when
she gives me the ball."

Admission is free and United States Olympic hurdler and LSU
great Lolo Jones will be honored at halftime. Through her foundation, Jones is
launching "Hurdles of Hope," which seeks to address barriers and
challenges of families with incarcerated loved ones.